Asia Pacific All Cap

During the quarter there were 63 resolutions from 12 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against eight resolutions.  

At ResMed, we voted against the Board re-election of Peter C. Farrell who retired from the company over 10 years ago and believe should step down from the Board. We also voted against the re-election of Richard Sulpizio as Chair of the nominating and governance committee, due to the decreasing gender diversity on the Board. We voted against the company’s executive remuneration and payment terms, as we have concerns around the complexity and use of many adjusted metrics. We also voted against the re-appointment of the auditor as they have been in place for over 10 years and the company has given no information on intended rotation which we believe is important for ensuring a fresh perspective on the financial accounts. (eight resolutions)

During the quarter there were 214 resolutions from 27 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against three resolutions. 

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Philippine Seven as they have been in place for over ten years. The company has given no information on intended rotation which we believe is important for ensuring a fresh perspective on the accounts. We also voted against proposals on transaction of business, as the company did not provide enough information about the proposals. We wanted to avoid giving them unrestricted decision-making power without sufficient clarity. (two resolutions)

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Vitasoy as they have been in place for over ten years. The company has given no information on intended rotation which we believe is important for ensuring a fresh perspective on the accounts. (one resolution)

During the quarter there were 342 resolutions from 38 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against nine resolutions.

We abstained from voting on amendments to work systems for independent directors and board meeting procedures at Amoy Diagnostics as the company did not provide sufficient data on the proposed amendments. (two resolutions)

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Glodon, Unilever Indonesia, Yifeng Pharmacy Chain and Zhejiang Supor as they have been in place for over 10 years and the companies’ have given no information on intended rotation. We believe rotating an auditor on a relatively frequent basis (e.g. every 5-10 years) helps to ensure a fresh pair of eyes are examining the accounts, and follows best practice. (four resolutions)

We voted against a proposal regarding transaction of business at Kasikornbank as the company provided insufficient detail on the proposal and we wish to avoid unfettered discretion. (one resolution)

We voted against the proposed employee stock ownership plan at Midea as we believe non-executive director involvement could lead to conflict of interest and would not be in shareholders' interest. (three resolutions)

We voted against a proposal regarding capital management at Pentamaster as we do not believe shares should be issued without pre-emptive rights. (one resolution)

During the quarter there were 89 resolutions from 20 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 3 resolutions. 

We voted against excessive executive remuneration at Bank Central Asia. (one resolution)

We voted against an adjustment of the Guarantee for Controlled Subsidiaries Assets Pool Business at Midea as we found the guarantee amount to be excessive and not in shareholders' best interests. (one resolution)

We voted against a Board appointment at Samsung Electronics as we would prefer to see more independent, non-family associated Directors. (one resolution)